Winshill Allotments & Gardens Association
Minutes of the AGM of the Winshill Allotments and Gardens Association held Monday 25th November 2024 at 7pm at St. Marks Church, Winshill.
1. 1. Present
(44)
Mitch Steel, Julie Batten, John Batten, Alan Moreton, Elaine Dunn,
Paul Dunn, Andy Bell, Amanda Gates, Simon Gates, Stuart Thom, Val Powell,
Gordon Powell, Gordon Fisher, Mick Lovely, Mick Carpenter, Sean Carpenter, Bob
Corcutt, Mo Tiney, Steve Tiney, Judy Keen, Tim Keen, Anne Wyatt, Chaz Wyatt, John
Hipwell, Kevin Stretton, Paul Hobbs, Yvonne Menear, Paul Menear, Dave Jones, Ian
North, Steve Ottewell, Richard Hicks, Jeff Bond, Toni Bond, Sarah Fortune, Neil
Bakewell, Sue O’Callaghan, Richard O’Callaghan, Rob Pilkington, Lynette Andrews,
Colleen Murdoch-Pratt, John Garbutt, Naomi Perry, Janis McAllister.
Apologies
Terry Marsden, Rosemary Marsden, Chris Richardson, Herb Croken,
Paul Maddock, Steve Cooke
2. 2. Minutes of the AGM 2023 Meeting
The Chairman, John Batten, welcomed
everyone and thanked them for their attendance. He asked everyone if there
were any points they wish to raise from the 2023 AGM minutes circulated to the members in advance. There
were none.
Adoption of the minutes proposed by
Gordon Powell and seconded by Steve Ottewell. The chairman signed the document
as a true and correct record.
3. 3. Chairmans Report
The
Chairman announced this had been his seventh year as Chair, it had been a privilege
and presented a
slideshow covering the past 12 months' achievements during that year.
Thanks
go Amanda Gates for managing the excess produce initiative and to Andy Bell for
managing the annual seed order. Thanks go to Chris Richardson who unfortunately
could not be with us this evening for managing and maintaining the Association website.
Special thanks must go to Alan, our Treasurer, for all
his efforts behind the scenes, especially the detailed accounts for which we
are blessed with, not normally found at Allotment Associations.
4. 4. Treasurers Report
Copies of the report are available on request, via email
system.
The Treasurer, Alan Moreton, began by
talking through the Annual Accounts and Statement of Assets &
Liabilities. Total income for the year £7,917
was 13% (£1,155)
less than the financial
year 2022/2023.
Total
expenditure for the year of £5,802 which was down by 43% (£4,528) compared with
Full Year 2022 /2023.
In this year of consolidation, the
activities have produced a profit for the year of £2,115. That profit will be used
to support our 3-year plan, which we will be rolling out alongside our future
maintenance works.
The annual review of the finances
highlighted that the current level of service charge covers the costs incurred
re insurance, NSALG subscriptions, water and electricity and banking charges. There
is therefore no proposal to increase the service charge for 2024/2025.
5. 5. Secretary Report
The Secretary, Mitch Steel,
added thanks to everyone for attending the meeting.
2024 membership
We started the year off with ninety-six plots of varying sizes and
92% let, we split down large plots new tenants onboarded and as of April we
were ninety-eight plots and 98% let, with 155 users of the site.
Heading into 2025 we will start the season with 101 plots of
varying sizes 92% let with 150 persons using the site.
Rent renewals for
2025, the Secretary will send out invites by 1st of December. All rent renewals must reach the
bank or be delivered to the secretary by 31st December 2024 at the very latest In line with the
tenancy agreement 3.1 Rent.
6. 6. Lettings
Secretary Report
Lettings Secretary Elaine Dunn stated for 2024.
11 New plot holders join the Association.
6 Plot holders resigned.
4 Multiple plot holders have reduced tenancy.
2 Existing plot holders have taken on extra land.
0 Waiting list now, although four recent enquiries
Two existing plot holders requesting extra land.
Plot inspections conducted around last Saturday of each month from
April/May to October due to the extremely wet conditions at the beginning of
the year.
Forty-eight improvement letters were raised, three final warning
letters issued, which unfortunately resulted in one termination.
7. 7. Election of Officers
John, read out the
constitution following the guidelines, John then stated that Elaine Dunn had
decided to stand down as letting secretary and Mitch Steel offered to take on
the role alongside the secretary role.
John offered the four officer’s
roles out to the membership. There were no new Applicants.
Chairman: John Batten offered
to remain in the role. Proposed by Rob Pilkington and seconded by Val
Powell. He was duly elected.
Treasurer: Alan Moreton
offered to remain in the role. Proposed by Gordon Powell and seconded by Amanda
Gates. He was duly elected.
Secretary: Mitch Steel offered
to remain in the role. Proposed by Elaine Dunn and
seconded by John Hipwell. He
was duly elected.
Lettings Secretary Role: Mitch Steel offered to take on the role. Proposed by Elaine Dunn and seconded by John
Hipwell. He was duly elected.
The Committee were proposed and accepted by the meeting.
8. 8. Election of Committee Members
John stated that Terry Marsden
had chosen to stand down as Grants officer. Special thanks to Terry who has put
in a lot of work on Grants over the years, especially these past 12 months.
Other Committee members
proposed and voted in at this point: -
Social Officer Julie Batten -
Proposed by Andy Bell and seconded by Simon Gates
Projects Manager: Simon Gates
- Proposed by Stuart Thom and seconded by Julie Batten
Equipment and Maintenance: Andy
Bell - Proposed by Lynette Andrews and seconded by Val Powell
Community Liaison: Amanda
Gates - Proposed by Mick Lovely seconded by Ian North
Grants officers not required
at this time will review ahead of 2026
John let it be known we
welcome additional committee members if you would like to discuss please come
forward.
9. 9. RHS/It’s Your Neighbourhood Competition.
John continued with the slide show. In 2022 (our 1st attempt) we scored 86 points out of a
possible 100 and were graded as outstanding, the highest award and equal to
gold. In 2023 with small improvements, we scored eighty-eight points retaining
our outstanding award.
This year 2024 with
further improvements made we have scored an impressive ninety-six points out of
a possible one hundred which is a huge achievement. Quoting several of the
judge’s wonderful comments.
10. 10. Honorarium
The Treasurer proposed to keep the honorarium
at £600 for the following year to be split equally between the Chairman,
Secretary, Treasurer, and Lettings Secretary
roles.
Members of the room were asked to vote by
show of hands. Forty-four hands were raised, and the motion was accepted.
11. 11. One-three-year plan
John confirmed 2024 was mostly a year of consolidation.
Tree survey completed Identified a lot of die back,
regular maintenance will be required involving outside contractors this comes
at a cost.
Asbestos survey of the nine concrete shed rooves is
underway via an approved contractor being arranged.
Community meeting space first mentioned at the 2023
AGM, the committee identified several benefits in having such a structure
including involving the wider community. To realise the project significant
investment will come via grants. We have identified a suitable site
near the shop, which is also appropriate for incorporating additional community
compost bays and a community manure drop. Thanks to Terry's hard work, we have secured
grants totalling £7,200.
A vigorous debate followed about the pros and cons of the project with
several questions raised over involving the wider
community citing safety and security as the main concerns. The committee will
call an extraordinary committee meeting in early January 2025 and committed to
feed back to members on all aspects of the project at that juncture.
12. 12. AOB
·
Ian North suggested adjusting the
Honorarium annually for inflation.
·
The Chairman is considering various
options to address the mulch shortage and anticipates identifying a solution
soon.
Date of next meeting
The date, time & location for the next
AGM will be set during the coming year 2025 at one of the quarterly Committee
Meetings.
